The challenges posed by the HIV/AIDS epidemic are tackled most effectively by creatively integrating biomedical, social and behavioral approaches. Although dramatic advances have been made in our understanding of vaccine development'and the effective treatment of HIV, poor medication adherence, stigma associated with HIV, and disparities in health services delivery limit the impact of biomedical advances. Significant progress has also been made in understanding viral pathogenesis and transmission. Translating this progress into reduced incidence of HIV, however, requires knowledge of efficacious methods to change human behavior. Optimal strategies are needed to disseminate and integrate into routine care behavioral approaches that are found to be effective. Interventions that target multiple levels, biologic and behavioral, are most likely to be effective but require collaboration across disciplines. The overarching goal of the UNC CFAR's Social and Behavioral Core is to facilitate collaborative HIV/AIDS research efforts that integrate biomedical and social science approaches. In this renewal application, we focus on three specific aims: 1) to support ongoing HIV/AIDS social and behavioral research as well as social and behavioral components of ongoing HIV/AIDS biomedical research by providing technical assistance in a number of areas;2) to support and enhance the communication and collaboration of existing HIV/AIDS Social and Behavioral researchers with each other and with biomedical researchers;and 3) to plan new research initiatives that address novel, high priority social and behavioral aspects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. We will achieve these goals by creating and maintaining an archive of evidence-based prevention interventions and measurement tools that assess psychosocial aspects of HIV/AIDS. We will also continue to help sponsor eekly CFAR seminars as well as develop and put on an annual Social and Behavioral HIV/AIDS Research symposium. These forums provide an opportunity to exchange ideas and develop novel collaborative endeavors. We will create an updated Social and Behavioral Researchers Resource Directory and, once updated, put it onlline to enhance its usability. We will work closely with other cores to enhance the use and dissemination of social and behavioral analyses of data in the UNC clinical database. Core G users represent a broad range of productive social and biomedical scholars from across several UNC Schools, FHI and RTI.
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